Overview: The Senate has passed President Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” which includes cuts to healthcare, SNAP, business tax breaks, and increased spending for border security. The bill has been met with criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, who argue that it would cut Medicaid funding and leave millions without health insurance. The bill now awaits a vote in the House, where it has been met with opposition from some lawmakers. The bill has been described as a direct attack on the health and well-being of low-income individuals and families.
Breanna Reeves
By a slim margin, Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” on July 1, with Vice President JD Vance being the tie breaker in a 51-50 vote.
Three Republican senators — Rand Paul (Kentucky), Susan Collins (Maine) and Thom Tillis (North Carolina) voted “no” alongside Democrats.
Now, the bill moves to the House for a vote, before the bill lands on the president’s desk. Republicans are working to meet the July 4 deadline set by Trump.
The controversial bill outlines several spending and tax cuts across health care, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), business tax breaks, increased spending for border security and eliminates tax credits for electric vehicles, among other provisions. These cuts total more than an estimated $700 billion over 10 years.
“Senate Republicans just voted to let President Trump and his billionaire buddies steal from working families in order to cut their own taxes by trillions of dollars,” stated Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). “Americans are struggling to keep up with rising costs from Trump’s chaotic tariffs. Instead of trying to reduce costs, Senate Republicans have chosen to cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid, kicking 17 million people — including over 2.3 million Californians — off their health insurance.”
Most controversial is the bill’s cuts and provisions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the federal program that provides low-cost health insurance for more than 71.2 million adults and children. Under the bill’s proposal, enrollment periods would be shortened, verification requirements would increase, and automatic re-enrollment would be eliminated for millions of people. In California, more than 6.3 million people have had coverage through Covered California, the state’s marketplace for affordable health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, Trump’s bill proposes $268 billion in cuts to ACA.
“The so-called ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ is not cost-saving. It is not smart. It is cruel, costly, and a significant encroachment on states’ rights – the opposite of what Republican leadership claims to stand for,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “Big government is getting bigger under Trump and Speaker Johnson, as they attempt to dictate every move states make and micromanage Americans through even greater bureaucracy. It’s dangerous, and anyone with common sense should oppose it.”
According to the California governor’s office, if the House passes the bill, it would put an estimated, over $28 billion dollars of federal funding at risk for California and up to 3.4 million Californians could lose health care coverage under the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. The bill would also cut federal funding for SNAP in California to $2.8 to $5.4 billion annually.
Additionally, the bill also proposed certain requirements for recipients of Medicaid such as requiring those aged 19 to 64 to work, volunteer, enroll in school or participate in job training at least 80 hours a month — the first time in Medicaid’s history. The bill would prohibit gender affirming care in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
“This bill is a direct attack on the health and well-being of low-income individuals and families,” stated Mara Youdelman, managing director of Federal Advocacy at the National Health Law Program. “It cuts nearly a trillion dollars from Medicaid. Millions of people are projected to lose coverage, even worse than the House-passed bill. States will be forced to reduce eligibility and services, and communities will lose hospitals and clinics they rely on, all to pay for tax breaks for corporations and billionaires.”